Family Inheritance
by The Dark Fiddler
Summary: A young boy embarks on his journey to challenge the Hoenn League, with a dark obstacle constantly in his way. Story based on a Sapphire Nuzlocke Run.
1. Chapter 1

"So, what do you think?" Dad and I both looked at Mom, because she was the one who had to be happy with the new house. Dad would be spending a lot of his time working at the gym, and I could live in a cave if I needed to.

"It seems kind of... small," Mom frowned. She'd grown up in a house that could conservatively be called a mansion, so her view was usually skewed. This time, admittedly, she did have a point; the house barely looked big enough to fit all three of us.

"It's probably an optical illusion," I said, trying to come up with some excuse to placate Mom. "We've got a yard big enough for a herd of Tauros, so of course it seems small." Dad just smiled.

"Cozy, not small. Just look around and I promise you'll love it." Dad held the door open in a needlessly dramatic fashion, and Mom entered the house, sighing. Dad and I followed, though I intended to change out of the crappy clothes I wore for the trip over than I wanted to look around. "Most of the stuff is already unpacked," Dad said as Mom looked around.

"They did a good job fitting it all in, considering this house is about half the size of our old one," I whispered to Dad.

"A third, but don't tell her," he smiled. "Your room's upstairs, end of the hall." I thanked him and went upstairs. My room was small, just like the rest of the house, with just enough room for my bed, desk, computer, and dresser. I changed into my favorite pair of jeans (black, the only pair of that color I'd ever seen) and a plain blue shirt. Satisfied, I turned on my computer and checked my email. The only message I had was from my friend, Kendra, declaring that she'd just gotten her first Pokémon and was getting ready to challenge the Johto League. I sent her a quick congratulatory message in return and flopped down on my bed, sighing.

I've wanted to challenge a league since I was six, but my parents never let me. I was the only thing keeping her from pursuing her own dreams, but now that I'd moved here to Littleroot, in Hoenn, she was free to start. Three years my junior, but she was already starting what I'd been dreaming of for ten years. I briefly wondered why my other friends hadn't emailed, but realized that they'd still be in school, due to the timezone difference. At least my other friends hadn't planned on being trainers, so I wasn't keeping them from their dreams as well. I laid there thinking for a while, but eventually I got up and walked back downstairs to find my mom eating ice cream and watching TV.

"Hi, honey," she sighed, scarfing down another spoonful of double chocolate chunk.

"Hi, Mom. Where's Dad, at the gym already?"

"No, he doesn't have to work until tomorrow. He just went out to grab the rest of our things from the car."

"Right... I'd better go see if he needs any help," I said, slipping away from the awkward situation. I loved my mom, really, but experience has shown that the only cure for these moods was some alone time.

"Hey, like your room?" Dad was sitting on the hood of the car, looking out towards the middle of town when I walked out. The stuff we'd brought with us, a grand total of three boxes, was sitting on the ground next to him.

"Cozy," I said sarcastically, looking around. Our nearest neighbor was easily three hundred feet away, but the town still managed to be small, and I could see the treeline in every direction. I could even see a man sitting by the road out of town and writing notes. "But it's not like I ever did much in my bedroom, so I don't need the space."

"Yeah, that won't be changing anytime soon; as far as I know, Birch is the only one with a kid your age in town," Dad laughed, motioning to the largest house I could see, several yards away. "Guess I should take this stuff inside and try to cheer up your mom," he sighed.

"What happened to her?" Mom's emotional outbursts were strong, but she wasn't one to get upset over nothing.

"Oh, not much. I think she finally realized exactly what moving meant, is all, and she's not taking it well," he said as he jumped down off the car. "I guess you want to go explore the town?"

"I guess, but if there's only one person my age in town, maybe I'll just go check that route over there," I said as I pointed towards the only road out of town.

"Just be careful," Dad frowned. "Wild Pokémon, you know?"

"Dad, just because I had a bad habit of getting attacked at home doesn't mean I like it. It's not like I'm going to go cause trouble, you know?"

"Alright, alright," Dad said dismissively, smiling. "Just have fun, Spencer." I nodded, and Dad turned around and went back in.

"Alright, now where should I go?" I frowned, thinking on where I should go. I turned around to look back into town, only to see a girl standing a few feet away, walking up to me.

"Hey, don't think I've seen you before," she shouted, waving. When she got close enough, she closely examined me. "Nope, definitely never met. You must be the new Petalburg leader's son? Dad said he was moving in today."

"Uh... yeah, my name's Spencer, and that'd be my dad."

"I guess if that's the case, you're already a good trainer," she frowned. "Probably just going to get a Pokémon from Dad and go challenge the league."

"I would, but my parents won't let me. No Pokemon, and no leagues." The girl's smile returned almost immediately.

"Oh, that's great!" She must have seen my look of confusion, because she quickly spoke again. "Not that you can't be a trainer, I mean... that'd just be mean! I meant that you won't be leaving, because I'm so used to people showing up and leaving right away. It gets so lonely being the only person here older than ten and younger than thirty. The name's May, by the way," she said, holding her hand out. "My dad's Profressor Birch, and he's one of the few people allowed to register people for the Hoenn League and give out starter Pokémon."

"Ah, we lived near Professor Elm back in Johto, who did the same thing," I said, shaking her hand. "I know exactly what you mean, my only friends were people who didn't want to be trainers, or were nice enough to not leave without me." May smiled and pulled me into a quick hug.

"Look at us, just two souls sharing the same unfortunate fate!" May laughed and let me go, before sighing. "But without anybody else here, I'm mostly stuck helping my dad with his research... which I was actually just on my way to do, so..." May trailed off, looking towards me hopefully.

"Well," I said, taking the hint, "I'm not busy. Think I could come along?"

"That would be great! He's working j-" Before May could finish, a cry for help rang through the air, cutting her off.

"HEEEAAALP!" I turned around to see where it was coming from, and saw the man I'd seen taking notes earlier running from a small pack of Pokémon.

"Oh no, Dad! Come on, Spencer!" May grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the man, who had jumped up a tree to escape the Pokémon. He had a bloody bite mark on his pants, and a chunk missing from his lab coat.

"May! Oh, I'm so lucky you've come! My bag, and my Pokémon... I dropped them when these Poochyena started chasing me!" He pointed to where he'd been earlier, where a bag was sitting. "Can you and your friend fight these off?"

"Absolutely, Dad! Come on, Spencer!"

"Right," I said, running over to the bag. May opened it up and started digging through it.

"He really needs to keep this better organized," May muttered to herself. I looked over at Birch and the Pokémon. There were six small, gray Pokémon surrounding the tree, all nipping at his feet.

"Spencer, catch!" I turned back to May just in time to see her tossing me a Poké Ball, which I caught. "You know how to battle?"

"A bit, but I've never actually done it before."

"Well, that's two of us, I guess." May smiled halfheartedly at me before gripping her ball tightly. She pressed the button on the front and it expanded. "Let's hope for beginner's luck, then!" With that, she released her Pokémon in a flash of red light, and I followed suit. Seconds later, we had a Torchic and a Treeko in front of us. "Hey, you filthy Poochyena! If you're looking for a fight, we've got one for you over here!" The Poochyena stopped attacking the professor, and started barking among themselves. After a few seconds, two of them stepped away from the group and approached us, growling.

"Those must be the leaders," I mused to myself. "You ready, Treeko?" My Pokémon, the small, green lizard, looked up at me and nodded, smiling slyly. "Alright then, use pound!"

"Tree-treeko!" The Treeko dropped to its hand and feet and charged at one of the Poochyena, which jumped at the Treeko in return, its head lowered for a tackle attack. At the last moment, the Treeko turned around and slammed its tail into the Poochyena's face, knocking it to the side. The Poochyena slid a bit, but quickly regained its composure and jumped again at Treeko, slamming into its side. To its credit, Treeko did manage to land another pound attack as it was knocked backwards.

"Hyena!" The Poochyena jumped again at Treeko, who had only barely managed to keep himself from falling flat on his back. Rather than dodge, Treeko jumped straight at the Poochyena, but landed on its head and jumped forcefully off, sending the Poochyena's face into the ground. Treeko landed gracefully behind its foe and got ready to attack again if necessary, but the Poochyena barked to its friend, who seemed to be having just as much trouble with May and her Torchic, and ran back to the pack, who all ran off into the forest.

"Great job, May," Birch sighed as he dropped to the ground. May ran over, and I followed closely behind, picking up Treeko as I passed it. "And, uh... oh, you must be Norman's kid! Lucky for me you decided to move in today," he laughed.

"Dad, are you okay?" May helped her father stand up uneasily, obviously looking at the blood now staining his pants.

"Don't worry, honey, it looks worse than it is." Judging by his face when he tried to walk, he was lying, and May knew it. "C'mon, help me back to the lab." May and I both held him up and walked him to his lab, in the center of town. While we traveled, he explained that his lab was the closest thing to a Pokémon Center, since the town was too small for one.

"You two handled that well, despite your lack of battling experience," he said once we'd gotten him back to his lab, while he was patching up his leg. "And as you might know, I am allowed to register trainers and hand out starter Pokémon. As such, I've decided to let you keep the Pokémon you used to save me and to help you register as a trainer!"

"R-really? Oh, thank you so much, sir!" I could hardly believe it! After waiting for so long, I was finally given the means to live my dream!

"But Spencer, what about your parents? If living next to Elm wasn't enough for them, what makes you think this will be?" I looked over at May, the smile fading from my face because I knew that she had a point. It looked like she was trying to conceal her own disappointment.

"Oh, May, don't be such a killjoy. I know you're tired of living here, so the offer was for you too!" May's frown disappeared almost instantly, and I realized that she wasn't upset by the fact that I wouldn't be allowed to go, but by the possibility that I would, and that she'd be alone again. I knew exactly where she was coming from, but that still hurt. "As for your parents, Spencer... I'll call your father quickly after you leave and explain to him. If there's any problems, you have him talk to me, understand?" I nodded, and he handed me a set of trainer registration forms. "Now you kids run home, it's about dinner time. May, I'll be right behind, just tell your mother I'll be a few minutes late." I thanked the professor and May and I walked outside.

"Us, trainers... can you believe it? May's smile hadn't left her face yes, and her Torchic was just as happy, wrapped up in her arms.

"Barely! It seems like I've been waiting for this for so long," I said, smiling back. We said our goodbyes and split up, heading to our respective homes. "So," I said, looking at the Treeko that was sitting on my shoulder, "if we're going to be traveling together, you're going to need a name, aren't you? How about... Trent?"

"Tree," the Pokémon said after a few moments of thought, nodding his head.

"Well then, here's to the start of a great future, Trent!" We finished walking to my house, and I opened the door without a second thought, only to find Dad sitting at the kitchen table, looking towards the door with the most serious expression I'd ever seen him wear. Before I could ask what was wrong, he spoke.

"Professor Birch called," he said, staring at Trent who was still sitting on my shoulder. "We need to talk, Spencer."


	2. Chapter 2

"So he's already given you that Treecko as your first Pokémon, hasn't he?" I nodded, and Dad looked away for a few moments, thinking. "Sit, Spencer. There's a bowl of food there for your Pokémon." I put Trent down and sat down at the table, and Dad sighed. "Now, you're probably thinking that I'm going to tell you that you can't start your journey yet again. If you are, though, you're wrong. It's time you learned why we never let your start your journey, and it's time you made your own decision. I'm not going to lie, you'll probably find the reason very difficult to believe, but I want you to listen to me until I've finished explaining. Understood?"

"Yes, Dad. I understand."

"Good. Now, you know that I used to live here in Hoenn before I moved to Johto with your mother, right? But have you ever noticed how I only have three Pokémon from the region? Isn't that a bit strange, considering I was the league champion once?"

"Yeah, a bit. I never really thought about it, though." To be honest, I only barely remembered that Dad had been champion; the position changes so quickly that it's lost a bit of prestige from the old days. Only truly extraordinary trainers could hold the title for more than a few weeks.

"Well, it'd directly related to why you were never allowed to challenge the league. You see, Spencer, our family is... cursed." If I'd been drinking something, I would have done a spit take.

"You're kidding, right? That's the best thing that you can come up with?" Dad glared sternly at me and I sank into my chair.

"Believe it or not, son, it's the truth. If you decide to follow through on your dream, then you'll find out soon enough." This was ridiculous, and every bit of logic I had was screaming out, telling me not to believe Dad. But the sober look he wore went a long way towards throwing all that logic out the window.

"The curse started eight generations before me," he continued, "but nobody remembers how anymore. The curse was supposed to last for ten generations, and it has two parts to it. The first part isn't truly bad; it limits you to catching only the first Pokémon you battle in an area."

"But how will I know if I'm in an area I've already caught a Pokémon in? And what exactly constitutes an area?" I figured I might as well play along with the curse thing until I could disprove it.

"Areas seem to correspond to the routes, forests, and caves that link cities in the region, though that's hardly a solid rule. And if you try to catch a Pokémon in an invalid area, then your Poké Balls will just lock up and not work. But don't just think you can see a Pokémon, decide you don't want it, and wait to battle a different Pokémon. The curse is a bit picky, and it might consider that running away from a battle." Dad stopped for a moment, as if he was dreading what he had to say next. "Any other questions about the first part of the curse?"

"No, Dad," I shook my head.

"Well then, the second part. This is why I only have three Hoenn Pokémon left." He took a deep breath, looking around the room. He looked at our new cabinets, the TV, and Trent, eating from the dish of Pokémon food and looking up at us. It took him half a minute to finally say what he had to. "If your Pokémon faint at any point... they die." I couldn't think of anything to say to that. I still wasn't sure if it was real, but... that would be a terrible thing to say for the purpose of a joke, and Dad's face still looked as serious as ever. By the time I said anything, it sounded awkward and forced.

"Why... why didn't you tell me earlier? If I'd known... I never would have wanted to be a trainer. I never..." I looked up at Dad, who was shaking his head, and trailed off.

"No, you still would have wanted to be a trainer. It's too deep in our blood. Or maybe it's part of the curse, I don't know. Be honest, you still want to be a trainer now, even knowing this." I nodded, but Dad wasn't looking. "And besides, if you turn away from the curse, or fail to overcome it... it's extended for another two generations."

"You have to be kidding me!" I slammed my fist into the table and stood up, livid at the injustice of the situation. "I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't, then?" Dad didn't say anything, and without anything to feed my anger, I eventually calmed down, and sat back down. "So how do I beat the curse then?"

"Simple. You just have to become a league champion."

"So not only do I have to do something pretty difficult in itself, I have to do it while putting the lives of my Pokémon, my friends, on the line?" Dad nodded, and I sighed.

"I managed it, and it sounds like you're a natural battler. I know it's a scary idea, having your friends die under your command, but I truly believe you can do this." Dad stood up and grabbed the trainer registration form. "I want you to sleep on this. If you still want to be a trainer after a night's sleep, then I'll sign these forms. If not, then that's your choice." He looked seriously at me one last time, before smiling as if we'd just been discussing the weather. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

The next few hours passed unspectacularly. We ate dinner, watched some television, and talked like normal, but I was out of it the entire time. I went to bed about three hours earlier than normal, but I had a hard time getting to sleep. When I finally did, it was fitful, and I woke up often. I had constant nightmares, perversions of the very same dreams I'd had as a kid, running countless battles through my mind where the combatants died. By five-thirty, I was tired of getting up and decided to just get dressed. I grabbed a glass of juice and went outside to sit on the porch, watching the morning unfold.

"I don't know what to do, Trent," I said to Trent when he joined me a few minutes later. "You were there... you heard everything that Dad said?" Trent nodded. "It's not unreasonable for me to be worried, is it? Even though I'm still not sure it's real?" I sighed, wondering why I was bothering with rhetorical questions. "What do you think I should do, Trent? Should I challenge the league, despite the risks?" Trent did nothing for several minutes, staying so still that I thought maybe he'd fallen asleep with his eyes open.

"Tree-treecko," he nodded, finally breaking the silence.

"And will you stay with me until the end? Through thick and thing, good times and bad?" He nodded again before climbing swiftly up to my shoulder, and I couldn't help but smile. "Alright then, buddy: you and me, from here to championship! We're not gonna let some silly curse that may or may not exist stop us!" With a renewed resolve, I went back inside and got the two of us some breakfast. I didn't know where we'd go, or how we'd get there, but I knew that the two of us were made to adventure, and that was what we were going to do. When I was halfway through my toast, Dad walked downstairs, already fully dressed.

"Ah, up already. Have you decided yet?" Dad again was looking far more serious than I was used to seeing him, and it was fairly unnerving.

"Yeah, I have." As I spoke, Mom appeared behind Dad, still looking half asleep. "I've done a lot of thinking, and I've decided that I can't just ignore this. I'm going to challenge the league." Dad nodded, smiling slightly as he handed me the completed registration form.

"I knew you would, Spencer. Your journey isn't going to be easy, but you'll come out a better person for having faced it. And I know that you've got what it takes to come out on top."

"Here, honey," Mom said as she handed me a backpack. "That should have everything you need for your journey, and some money to support yourself until you start making an income." Mom yawned before she stepped in and kissed me on the forehead. "Be safe."

"And if I don't see you at the gym in a few days, I'll assume you've been kidnapped," Dad laughed. And that was pretty much it as far as goodbyes; I finished up my breakfast and Trent and I walked down to Birch's lab, where May was already pacing back and forth in front of the door.

"It's about time," May said, throwing up her arms. I noticed Pepper sleeping up against the lab wall. "You have your forms, right?"

"Of course I've got the forms! Did you really expect to forget them after ten years of waiting?" May laughed nervously.

"Sorry, but I've been waiting too, you know? Plus, I'm kinda giddy from lack of sleep, 'cause I was so excited! How about you?"

"Well, I can certainly say that I didn't get much sleep either."

"What a great way for us to start our journey, so tired we can barely think straight! C'mon, we've wasted enough time out here, and we should head inside!" Trent barely jumped off my shoulder in time to avoid May's arm as she wrapped it around me and pulled me along. "He's here, Dad!"

"Glad you could make it, Spencer," the professor said as he limped to meet me. His leg was wrapped up tightly in gauze. "Have the forms?"

"Right here, sir," I said as I handed them over. He looked over them quickly and nodded, finding everything to his satisfaction.

"That's good! It would have been terribly tragic if you'd left May waiting for two hours, only to not come along," he smiled.

"But May, it's not even seven yet!"

"I know, but I was just so excited! Pepper's not too happy though, since I kept him up all night with my deranged, half-asleep ramblings!"

"Well, Trent got plenty of sleep; he's rested and ready!" As if to prove my point, Trent ran out between the two of us and struck a few poses to show how much energy he had.

"Enough bickering, you two! There's still a few things I need to give you before you become trainers, and I won't have you fighting in my lab!" He looked at the two of us and smiled. "Good. Now first, take these," he said as he pulled out two small, red, rectangular devices from his pockets, handing one to May while opening the other and typing some information in. "These are your Pokédexes, and they also have a digital copy of your trainer license on them." He closed the one he still had and handed it to me. "Don't lose it, please. They're invaluable tools, as I'm sure you know. And of course, you're going to need some Poké Balls so you can catch some team members!" Professor Birch fished out five small, red orbs for each of us and handed them over. "You already have your starters, so... that's it! Have fun on your journey, and make lots of friends!"

"Professor Birch... thanks. For talking to my father, I mean. If it weren't for you, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do this at all." I wasn't sure, but I could have sworn that Birch's smile disappeared for a split second. When I looked to confirm my suspicious, however, it had returned.

"Don't mention it, Spencer! Just make sure you stay safe, alright?" The professor turned to May next, pulling her into a tight hug. "And you stay safe too, honey. You know your mother and I love you."

"Yeah, Dad, I know," May said as she struggled to get free. Birch laughed and let her go.

"Have fun, you crazy kids." And with that, we left. May nudged Pepper, still sleeping by the doorway, as we walked outside.

"So Spencer, since we're like the textbook definition of rivals now, there's something we need to do," she said as Pepper yawned and stretched out in the sun.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Battle, of course!"


	3. Chapter 3

"B-battle?" My imagination started painting vivid pictures of the possibly grisly outcome and I shuddered, trying to shake them from my mind.

"Well, of course! We're trainers now, and what else do rivals do? I mean, it should have been obvious," May smirked as Pepper strutted over to stand in front of her. I looked down at Trent, who was standing calmly by my side.

"Well... you ready for this, Trent?"

"Tree," he nodded, moving to stand across from Pepper and May.

"Well then, that's settled!"

"Yeah, I guess it is." I was never really religious, but I took a deep breath and said a quick prayer to calm my nerves. "Trent, use pound!"

"Pepper, dodge and use scratch!" With hardly any delay at all, Trent dropped down to all fours and charged at Pepper, who dodged to the side and slashed at Trent's side with his talons. In retaliation, Trent slammed Pepper with his tail, sending him flying backwards. "Quick, Pepper, scratch again!" Pepper managed to land fairly solidly and charged at Trent again, clawing at him. Trent winced in pain and backed away. "One more time, Pepper!"

"Trent use leer!" I didn't see exactly the face he made, since he was facing away from me, but it manage to make Pepper skip to a stop. "And follow it up with pound!" Taking advantage of his foe's lowered defenses, Trent again attacked with his tail, sending Pepper sprawling on the ground.

"Alright, I think that's enough," May said. "We still have a whole day of traveling to get done with, you know? No sense in tiring ourselves out before then." Trent smirked and helped Pepper up, obviously feeling that he'd won.

"Funny," I thought out loud, "battles always seemed to last so much longer on TV."

"Well, this is a practice battle, you know? I'm sure it would have lasted a lot longer if we were going until somebody fainted."

"Probably." May pulled out an Oran berry and a knife, sliced the berry deftly down the middle, and gave half to each of our Pokémon. "So, if we're both challenging the league, our best course of action would probably be to go to Petalburg and get the badge there, first."

"I dunno, that's Dad's gym. It'd feel weird to fight him first, you know?

"Ah, alright then. How about Rustboro? We still have to go through Petalburg to get there though."

"That's alright, I was going to check in with him when we passed through anyway," I shrugged. "Besides, you're the one who knows the region, not me.

"Yeah, I am," May smiled, starting down the road out of town. "And as the local expert, I say onwards to Route 101 and Oldale Town!" Without any further stalling, the four of us started on our journey. The road to Oldale was poorly kept; the road itself was only gravel, while the grass running along it got pretty high, when the trees weren't overshadowing it. We talked a bit as we walked, but by the time we were an hour in, we were too tired to keep talking other than the occasional inconsequential comment. By the time we finally stopped for lunch, we were ready to collapse.

"Oh jeez, who knew walking cross-country would be so exhausting?" May said as she sat down on a rare patch of shorter grass along the road.

"They always seem to leave this part out when they're telling the champions' stories." I didn't even bother sitting down, I just dropped my pack and fell backwards. "Ow."

"Worth it? That sounded pretty painful," May said as she handed me a sandwich.

"Totally worth it," I replied as I took the sandwich. "I can't imagine what tomorrow's gonna be like, though."

"Well, if we're lucky, we're gonna buff up immediately and be completely fine with it," May laughed. We ate in silence, and ended up just sitting there for an entire hour. I nearly fell asleep there in the warm sun and the soft grass, but eventually we had to get up. I climbed to my feet and picked up my bag, only for a Pokémon to jump out of it, my Pokédex in its mouth.

"Hey, get back here!" I moved to grab it, but Trent beat me to it, tackling the Pokémon and pinning it to the ground. "Hey, good job, Trent!" I took my Pokédex from the Pokémon, a Zigzagoon, and pulled out a Poké Ball. I tapped the orb to the Zigzagoon lightly, and it disappeared into a flash of red light, which got absorbed into the ball. The button glowed, signifying a successful capture. "Huh, pretty anti-climactic for a first catch."

"A Zigzagoon? Really? They're common as dirt, and only little kids use them," May said. I just shrugged and released my new teammate.

"Hey, it's new to me." I looked down at the Zigzagoon, who looked fairly scrawny. "Well hey there, you look kinda hungry. I bet you were just looking for food in my pack, weren't you?" She barked, and I gave her a berry from my pack. "Well don't need to worry about food now... Bonnie."

"Bonnie? Man, you have such weird names," May scoffed.

"Why must you be so cruel, May?"

"I'm not cruel, I'm just saying that it's kinda weird to use human names for your Pokémon. Now c'mon, we've only got another hour or so of walking left, then we can either go rest or go visit this lake north of Oldale. They say the water there is great for tired feet."

"Good, I don't know how much more walking I can take. Trent, Bonnie, you ready?" Bonnie barked and started walking, while Trent climbed up on my shoulders. "After today, you're gonna have to start walking, Trent," I laughed, but he just shook his head, and we all started walking towards Oldale again, Bonnie in the lead. Oldale was a bit smaller than Littleroot, but it had a lot more people in it. Despite this, it was still a pretty small town, the kind where most people knew each other, and something that affects one family would affect them all.

"The lake's just a bit farther," May said, continuing through the town. I could already see it before we left, and there were a few people and Pokémon sitting around, including a couple, a fisherman, and a young trainer playing with a few Zigzagoon. May kicked her shoes off and slipped her feet into the lake almost immediately, sighing in relief and sitting down on the shore. "Oh man, this is so relaxing."

"Well, I think we've earned a nice bit of relaxation," I said as I slipped off my own shoes. Bonnie bounded into the water and started splashing about, while Trent just sat down next to me. We spent a lot of time, just sitting there and watching the others nearby.

"Look at those Wingull, Spencer. It's rare to see such a large flock so far inland." I looked to where May was pointing and saw easily two dozen bird Pokémon flying all around the lake. The young boy from before was throwing some food up at them, and one would break away to grab it. I smiled, remembering feeding the Pidgey back home in Johto as a kid, and pulled out some of my own food. I threw a bit up into the air, and one of the birds broke away to catch it.

"No matter how old I get, feeding bird Pokémon is always going to be fun," I sighed hapily.

"Wiii," the Pokémon cried out, suddenly diving at me and firing a powerful jet of water from its beak. I rolled to the side just in time to avoid getting hit head-on, instead getting splashed with the mud it kicked up.

"Woah, what's that thing's problem?" I pulled out a Poké Ball and looked down at Bonnie. "You think you're ready to battle?" The Wingull flew down and landed on the ground a small distance away, and Bonnie jumped out of the water to confront it. The two were growling at each other. "Alright then, use tackle, Bonnie!" Bonnie barked and jumped at her foe, who started flapping its wings just a moment too late dode. Her attack hit head on, knocking the bird backwards, though it used the momentum to its advantage and started gliding back out over the lake.

The Wingull circled around several times, climbing higher each time, before diving quickly at Bonnie. "Dodge it, Bonnie!" Bonnie barked and, either because it she didn't hear me or because she thought her idea was better, charged her foe. The Wingull banked right at the last moment, soaring back out over the lake, before firing a water gun at Bonnie who stood her ground at took it head-on.

"Hey Spencer, how do you plan to fight this Wingull if it can just stay too far away for your Pokémon to reach it?" May was still sitting with her feet in the lake, laughing at my misfortune. I rolled my eyes and threw the Poké Ball I had in my hand at the Wingull, only for it to dodge it. The ball flew out into the lake, and the Wingull fired a water gun at me, hitting me in the gut and sending my back on my butt.

"Ow... stupid bird!" I threw another ball out as it dived towards Bonnie again, but it just rotated slightly and the ball flew past its wings. It fired off another water gun, and Bonnie flew back into my arms. "You okay?" Bonnie barked, and tried to charge back out at the Wingull, but I held her tight. "No way, I don't want anything happening to you. Besides, Trent already tagged in," I said, noticing Trent climbing up a tree.

"Tree!" He jupmed at the Wingull, ready to attack, but was stopped with another water gun, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Oh jeez, this is bad," I thought to myself as May started laughing at my predicament. This wasn't going well at all; both my Pokémon were injured now, and I only had two Poké Balls left. I fished them out and started brainstorming to try and get a plan, when Trent started climbing back up the tree. "Alright, Trent, get ready to get that Wingull!" My mind set, I stood up and tossed on of the Poké Balls. The Wingull dodged, just like I expected, but Trent used the distraction to jump on it, pulling it down to the ground with a pretty heavy thud. "Good job, Trent!" I walked up to the two and glared at the Wingull. "Stupid bird."

"Gul!" In one last act of defiance, the bird looked up and tried to fire off another water gun at me, but Trent had him pinned at an angle where that was just impossible. I laughed and tapped its wing with my last Poké Ball. The orb absorbed it and shook lightly, but the button glowed without much trouble. "Finally," I sighed, sitting back down by the lake. "That was not relaxing at all, and now I'm out of Poké Balls."

"That was pretty funny. You should consider starting a career in comedy with talents like that," May laughed. I reached down into the lake and splashed water up at her.

"Insults later, relaxation now," I said as Bonnie curled up next to me.


	4. Chapter 4

"Welcome to the team, Maria!" I smiled as I looked down at the newest addition to my team, a Lotad. She'd jumped out at us almost the moment we left the town, but Bonnie was more than a match for her. May said that she though she only knew astonish at the moment, so she'd be a bit useless against normal-type Pokémon.

"Jeez, do you plan on catching every Pokémon you see, Spencer? You could at least wait until we find some rarer Pokémon before spending all your money on Poké Balls."

"Hey, just because you've seen them all a million times doesn't mean I have; they're all a bit new and exciting to me." I didn't tell her the real reason, of course. There was no need to worry her if there was even a slight chance of me getting through my challenge without the curse ever being a problem.

"Hey, whatever you want," she shrugged. "But we're not exactly made of money, and you're team's nearly full already. You're either going to run out of spaces in your team and your new captures will go to waste, or you'll run out of money for new balls. Either way, you'll slow down eventually."

"I've got it all under control, May, don't worry." She grabbed my hand and dragged me along as she started walking.

"Whatever. C'mon, we've got to keep going if we want to get to Petalburg by noon." I sighed and pulled my hand out of hers and walked along with her, my legs still sore from yesterday. We traveled in relative quiet, but it thankfully wasn't that long until we reached our destination. "It's been a while since I've been here, but I should still be able to find the gym," May said quietly to herself, obviously lost in thought.

"May, don't you think we should get some lunch, first? I mean, we're not even going to battle Dad." May jumped a bit as I jarred her from her thoughts, but she nodded and marched off into the city to find a restaurant. I followed behind, taking the time to look around. Petalburg seemed like a nice little city, there were quite a few people, but there was enough space that most people had at least small yards at their houses. After lunch, May kept looking around for the gym, almost in a daze.

"May, do you actually know where the gym is?" I asked after half an hour of walking around. May responded by smacking me on the back of my head.

"Of course I do, Spencer, don't be ridiculous." 

"Well, May, you've been leading me around in circles for the past 30 minutes, what else am I supposed to think?" May rolled her eyes.

"Obviously that I'm trying to help you get in shape, Spencer. I know the gym is around here somewhere..."

"Looking for the gym?" a voice behind us asked. I didn't need to turn around to tell who it was, but May simply didn't feel the need to know who had asked.

"Yeah, but we can find it ourselves, thanks" she said, waving dismissively behind her.

"She has no clue, Dad, don't listen to her," I said turning to face my father.

"Of course she doesn't, she's Birch's daughter," he laughed. May turned to face him as well, crossing her arms and blushing slightly.

"Well now we can find the gym," she said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, you weren't hoping to battle me, were you?" He looked over my team and Pepper, and shook his head. "No, certainly not ready."

"No, I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was still alive. We planned on going through the forest to Rustboro."

"Ah, that's a much better choice. Roxanne is a good first leader for trainers just starting out to battle." He looked again at my team, as if he was taking inventory so far. "So, no accidents so far?"

"Maybe if you count how much trouble catching his Wingull was," May laughed.

"Ah, that's good," Dad smiled before looking sternly at me. "Does she know yet?"

"Know what?" May stopped laughing and looked fairly concerned. I glared at Dad and shook my head slightly.

"About our family's history of seducing the women we travel with of course," he smirked, not missing a beat. May frowned a bit, but shrugged, satisfied.

"I guess she knows now," I muttered, blushing and looking down at my feet. Couldn't he have thought up a better cover?

"Well, sir, I don't intend to be seduced by your son, so I don't think it's going to be a problem."

"They've all said that, Ms. Birch. Just ask my wife!" Dad laughed again, before looking at his watch. "Alright, you crazy kids, I've got to get back to the gym." He pulled me a bit to the side and whispered quietly to me, "You can't keep the secret forever, Spencer. She's going to find out at some point, whether or not you tell her." He smiled again and let me go back to May, who was looking worried again. "I told him to use protection," Dad laughed.

"Right... it was... nice meeting you, sir," May said, a bit unsure of how she felt about my Dad.

"You too, May. And one last bit of advice; make sure you keep training while you're traveling. you've got to keep improving if you want to be a major mover in the league!" With that, Dad walked to the gym... which was right down the street from where we were standing. I glared at May, but she just smiled.

"You dad seems like a fun guy to live with. A bit weird, maybe, but fun. Now c'mon, let's get going! We need to make some progress if we want to make it through Petalburg Woods in any reasonable amount of time!" I sighed and followed behind May as she led us from the city. I had the feeling that she was going to kill me eventually if she kept up this rapid traveling pace. The route to the forest was relatively short, but it was along a steep cliff that, through a narrow path along the edge, ran along a small beach and the ocean.

"Hey May, I thought you said that lake back near Oldale was pretty far inland?" May looked out at the ocean, actually stopping for a moment, and shrugged.

"I was never that good a geography."

"So you're the one in charge of navigation?"

"Hey, I'd like to see you do better. You've been in the region for what, two days?" I sighed and looked at the forest in front of us, when Maria cried out. I looked over at her, and saw her sitting, watching a Wurmple who had just crawled out of the trees between the city and the forest proper. I walked over, with Baron, Trent, and Bonnie following me, and the worm-like Pokémon curled up into a ball.

"Wurrr..." I looked down at the poor creature, obviously scared.

"Aww, don't worry, I won't bite." The Wurmple didn't budge, even when I nudged it lightly. "Well, this is no place for somebody like you," I said as I pulled out a Poké Ball. "Welcome to the team, Jessica." I tapped the ball lightly against the Wurmple, and she was a member of the team. I let her out of the ball, but she backed up against the tree line again. "Well, I hope you warm up to us eventually," I sighed.

"Excuse me, mister." I turned away from my new teammate to find a young boy with green hair standing there. He was pale, and couldn't have been older than 10. "I just saw you catch that Wurmple, and I was wondering if you could help me catch a Pokémon too."

"Why don't you just register with the Pokémon League?" May asked. "The starter you'll get will likely be better for a beginner like you than anything you could find here."

"I could, miss, but I don't want to battle the gym leaders. I'm moving to Verdanturf and I just want to have a friend."

"I'm not really an expert or anything," I started to say, before being interrupted by the kid coughing. I hated to judge based on how he looked, but he was obviously a pretty sick kid, and it wouldn't really be that much trouble. "But... I'd be glad to help. The name's Spencer."

"Thanks so much, Mister Spencer! I'm Wally!" The kid's smile was infectious, even as he coughed again.

"First thing's first, do you know how to battle, Wally?" He nodded. "Good. Maria, could you come here and help Wally catch a Pokémon?" Maria, who had been talking to Jessica, walked cheerily over. I pulled out a Poké Ball and handed it to Wally. "Alright, now let's start looking."

"Letting me use your Pokémon and a Poké Ball? You're too nice, Mister!"

"I guess I'll just sit down and rest over here," May said, rolling her eyes and laying down on the grass.

"Nah, it's the least I could do to help," I said, ignoring her. "Let's start looking around, then, I'm sure you need to get home and get ready."

"Alright!" Wally bounded off to look around, much faster than he seemed capable of, with Maria following steadily behind him. While we searched for a Pokémon for Wally, he shared details about himself, mostly about his illness and why he was moving. "Well my parents picked Verdanturf because that's where my Uncle lives, so I'll have family to live with. That, and the air's supposed to be really really clean, which is what I need."

"Your parents aren't moving with you?"

"No, they don't have enough money to move completely... but that's okay, I really appreciate that they want me to get better!" I smiled, because Wally was just such a cheery kid. He didn't stop searching for a Pokémon for anything, except once when he started coughing particularly badly, but he got right back to searching almost immediately. Finally, after about 20 minutes of searching, Wally pointed to the trees, and the Pokémon that had just stepped out from them. "Look! Look! It's a Ralts!"

"Ooh, they're pretty rare!" May, who'd actually been sleeping before, had sat up almost immediately and was looking intently at the small, green-capped Pokémon.

"Alright, Ralts, are you ready to battle?" Wally took up a stance as if he was going to fight the Ralts himself, and the Ralts copied his stance. "Maria, use... uh, use astonish?" Maria, who'd been by Wally's side faithfully throughout all the searching, jumped out at the Ralts and landed right in front of it.

"Lo!" There was a small burst of energy from Maria, and the Ralts put up its arms to shield itself.

"Good, now... use tackle!" Maria backed up slightly and jumped at the Ralts, slamming into it rather solidly.

"I thought you said she only knew astonish, May," I smirked.

"Hey, tackle barely counts as an attack," she shrugged. "All it is is running into the enemy."

"Mister Spencer!" I turned back to the battle and saw Maria floating in the air, flailing about wildly, and the Ralts holding its arms out. "I don't want your Pokémon getting hurt, I'm going to throw the Poké Ball now!" Wally took a deep breath and threw the ball I'd given him, somehow managing to curve it around Maria. It collided with the Ralts and... nothing happened, aside from the Ralts being knocked off-balance and Maria falling to the ground.

"Looks like that one was a dud, Spencer," May snorted.

"I'm sorry, Wally, I don't know what happened!"

"It's okay, Mister Spencer, I have another!" He fished an old-looking Poké Ball out of his pocket and gripped it tight. "This time, you're mine, Ralts!" He took another deep breath and threw the second ball. The Ralts failed to dodge it, and was sucked inside. Before I could even be sure if the capture was successful, Wally already had the Poké Ball in his hands and was jumping for joy. "I did it, Mister Spencer, I did it!"

"Great job, Wally," I said as I grabbed the ball I'd given him that had failed. I looked at it briefly and saw nothing wrong with it, but decided I'd have to have a closer look later.

"I can't believe it," he said, smiling wider than I would have thought possible. "I promise I'll take good care of him, and I won't let him down or anything! Thanks so much for your help, Mister Spencer, but I have to go now..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You go home and show your parents your new friend, and I promise that if I'm ever in Verdanturf I'll stop by and see you, alright?" Wally nodded before turning around and running back to the city. He stopped right before he was out of sight to wave back to me. "See ya, Wally," I shouted to him.

"So, ready to move on?" I looked over to May to see her alreayd standing and ready to go.

"You're an impatient mood-killer," I scoffed. "You can't tell me that wasn't heartwarming."

"I supose," she shrugged, "but we've still got plenty of ground to cover. C'mon."


	5. Chapter 5

"But you can't catch that, May!" It was our second day in Petalburg Woods, and we were just about to set up camp when a Pokémon jumped out at us. The very same Pokémon we were now arguing about.

"Stop being so greedy, Spencer! You've nearly got a full team, and this'll be my first catch! Give me one good reason I shouldn't catch it," May growled, glaring at me and pulling out a Poké Ball. I looked over at the Shroomish, which was hopping back and forth on its feet.

"Because... it jumped out at me," I said a bit pathetically, not able to think of a better reason, other than the curse.

"Not good enough," May scoffed. "That Shroomish is mine!" Without delay, May tossed the ball at the Shroomish, and I knew I had no time to act. I pulled out and threw my own Poké Ball, though I knew I had no chance of catching it first.

"Shroo!" Just before May's Poké Ball hit its target, a second jumped out of a bush and rammed into it, sending it flying away. The new Shroomish landed, only to get hit with my Poké Ball. It was knocked off balance, but nothing else happened and the ball simply bounced back towards me.

"Jeez Spencer, did you buy second-hand Poké Balls or something? Isn't that the second one of yours that hasn't done anything? But hey, at least there's two Shroomish now, so you don't need to complain. Pepper, you ready?" Pepper nodded and ran at the two Shroomish, but got intercepted by the second one, who leaped into Pepper with a powerful tackle. With that Shroomish occupied, I turned to my team.

"Alright, who wants to fight?" Jessica shied away immediately, and Maria busied herself trying to encourage her. The rest of my team simply looked behind me, until Trent pointed to the Shroomish. I looked over to see it walk over to the Poké Ball I'd thrown earlier and tap the button. The ball opened and the Shroomish disappeared inside. "Well, I think that may be the easiest capture in recorded history."

"Ember, Pepper!" I glanced over at May's battle just in time to see Pepper spit a burst of flame at the Shroomish he was fighting, causing it to recoil. May used the opening to throw her own Poké Ball, resulting in another successful capture. She turned to smirk at me until she saw that I'd already captured my Shroomish, without any of Pokémon looking like they'd fought. "What, no battle? You're kidding me right?"

"No, May, I'm not kidding. Looks like I've got all the luck," I smiled, releasing the Shroomish. "Kelso here practically caught himself!" Upon hearing his new name, Kelso began dancing to a tune only he could hear.

"Seems like he's defective," May scoffed. "Oh, and Kelso? Really?" May released her own Shroomish and took out a potion to tend to its wounds.

"Yeah, what's wrong with the name? It seemed like it'd fit really well."

"It's still weird, though. But hey, if you're gonna go for the reference, I might as well complete it by naming mine Jackie. Sound good?" Jackie turned snobbishly away from her, and May sighed. "Well, I guess that name was pretty fitting too." Kelso walked over to Jackie and said something that he obviously thought was funny, but only got an angry glare in return.

"It's like they're really Kelso and Jackie! Man, it's like I have the psychic ability to pick perfect names!" May laughed to herself, but didn't say anything and continued treating Jackie's wounds, while Kelso tried to cheer her up. Maria had somehow convinced Jessica to sit on her head, while Baron, Trent and Bonnie were playing among themselves. It was that moment that it dawned on me that I had a full team, and I knew we had some real potential. I made a promise to myself then: no losses. I didn't have to lose any of my friends, and since the curse was set to end with me, nobody had to know.

"Excuse me children." I jumped slightly as my thoughts were interrupted by a slightly portly young man in a suit, carrying a wrapped package. "Those two Shroomish, they didn't happen to come along from that direction, did they?" I looked where he was pointing, and could still see the rustled leaves from where Jackie had jumped out from.

"Yeah, they did. Why?"

"Oh," the man frowned. "Well, I noticed them on my way to Rustboro, and Shroomish is my favorite Pokémon, so I followed them! But it seems you've already caught them."

"I caught mine," May said. "His pretty much caught himself, though."

"Oh, that's terrible luck," the man sighed, looking at his watch. "I must have been tracking them for an hour and a half, and you don't even need to expend any energy to catch them! I guess I need to get back on the path to Rustboro, though, so-"

"You stupid deliveryman, could you be any slower?" Interrupting the man in a business suit, another stranger in a striped shirt and blue bandanna stepped out from behind a tree. "All you had to do was keep walking along towards Rustboro so I could jump you and take that package, but no! You just HAD to go chase some stupid Shroomish! Whatever, I'll just be taking that package now, for my boss! Poochyena, go!" The man pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it down, releasing a vicious looking Poochyena.

"T-trainers, do you think you could help me out? I don't have any Pokémon!" I turned back to my team.

"Alright, guys, who's up for it?" Jessica crawled down from Maria's head and stepped forward, looking one last time back at Maria. "Jessica? Alright, I know you can do it, girl!"

"Is this some sort of joke? Poochyena, grab that package while the brat decides what Pokémon he wants to lose!" The Poochyena reared back, snarling, and leaped at its target. The man just stood there, wide-eyed and unable to move, until May tackled him. The Poochyena flew over the two of them and turned around for another attack. Just before he jumped, however, a small number of pale, purple barbs collided with it, causing it to yelp in pain.

"W-Wurmple..." Jessica crawled out in front of me to confront the Poochyena, looking way to much like she didn't belong on the battlefield. The Poochyena turned and howled in anger at her, before jumping at her.

"Poison sting, Jessica!" Jessica hesitated slightly quickly but lowered her head, her horn glowing a sickly purple. The Poochyena slammed head-first into her, but shuddered and stumbled backwards after colliding with her horn. "Now, bog it down with string shot and stay out of attack range!" Jessica shook her head, a bit disoriented from her foe's attack, and spat a string of sticky web, tangling up the Poochyena's legs.

"Pooch!" The Poochyena jumped at Jessica again, but tripped over the webbing and fell face-first, shivering and whimpering quietly.

"Poison's a dirty trick, brat! But fine, you win this round." The assailant pointed his Poké Ball at his fallen Pokémon and recalled it in a beam of light. "This isn't the last time you'll see me, or Team Aqua!" He threw down a small pellet, and the air suddenly filled with an irritating, noxious smoke. I had to use my shirt as a makeshift mask just to breathe, and I could hear everybody else around me coughing.

"Baron," I managed to say between coughs, "can you do anything about this smoke?" I didn't hear any reply from Baron, but I heard him flap his wings heavily and take off. The smoke started to clear, and I saw him flying back and forth, doing his best to blow it away with each pass. He couldn't get it all cleared, but he managed to get rid of enough for us to see and breathe again. I blinked away the tears that had formed in my eyes and looks around; everybody seemed fine, if short of breath, but the attacker was nowhere to be found.

"Gul." Wingull landed softly on a branch up in the trees to get away from what little smoke was remaining, and I saw Trent sitting on the branch below him. Bonnie, Maria, Kelso, Jackie, and Pepper were all huddled together coughing on the smoke that had sunk to the ground, while Jessica was curled up in the remnants of her string shot, left behind when the Poochyena was recalled. May was busy helping the business man to his feet.

"Are you okay?" she asked. The man dusted himself and nodded.

"Yes, and thank you. If that thief had found me alone, then he'd have taken this package from me for sure," he said, patting the package which was securely tucked under his arm. "It's not much, but I want you two to have these Great Balls. I was going to use them to catch any Shroomish I came across, but I figure I owe you two dearly." The man pulled two red and blue orbs out from his pocket and handed one each to May and me. I put it with the rest of my Poké Balls, and an Ultra Ball that Bonnie had mysteriously obtained for me in Oldale.

"It was no trouble at all," I assured him.

"Well, they're also a bit of an advance payment. You see, what the thief said about seeing him again has me worried, and I was hoping that you could help get to Rustboro safely?"

"Well, it's not like we'd have to go out of our way; we're heading in that direction too. We were just about to camp, though."

"I'll go grab my stuff, then, I left it just a little further along! Thank you so very much, again," the man said as he jogged off deeper into the forest. "Oh, my name's Edward, by the way!"

"You don't have a problem with him staying with us, do you, Spencer?"

"Not at all, May. If anything I'd have thought that you might have a problem with it, though. But actually, it makes me feel like a hero!"

"Oh, you're such a dork," May laughed, turning back to Jackie so she could finish tending to her wounds from the battle. "Oh, and by the way, Jessica evolved."

"Huh?" I looked at where Jessica had been earlier, and instead of seeing her curled up in the web, I saw a cocoon sitting on Maria's head.

"Lotad," she croaked, bouncing happily back and forth.


	6. Chapter 6

Full of people running in all directions, Rusboro City was a real city, not like the towns we'd seen so far. The roads had plenty of cars on them, the sidewalks were fairly crowded, and there was hardly any green except for the occasional purposely planted tree and the flower shop on the edge of town. There was a lot less space walking around, and I had to watch my team closely to make sure they didn't get lost.

"I truly cannot thank you two enough," Edward said when we reached a Pokémon Center. Despite the high traffic in the city and the number of visitors the center surely received, there were nearly no people to fight through outside. "I've made great time traveling with you two; my boss doesn't even expect me until tomorrow, so I'll grab a room here and just relax then, since it's getting so late."

"Wow, it got pretty late really fast," I said as I looked up at the sky, slowly gaining a red tint. "Think we should get rooms too, May?"

"Yeah, sure, later," she said quickly as she, impatient, walked deeper into the city.

"Uh, sorry, Edward," I apologized as I ran off to follow her. "Where are you heading, May?"

"The gym, of course! I want to get my first badge right away, and the gym's right down the street, so I can't just sit around and wait, you know?"

"We can't do that, May." She kept walking, ignoring me, so I grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. "Look at us, May; we've spent the last few days in the wilderness, and it's pretty obvious." I motioned to our clothes, caked in dirt and leaves, but she just shrugged.

"Hey, we're trainers. It's practically our job description!"

"But what about our Pokémon? They're gonna need a chance to rest. I mean, look at Pepper." Pepper, hearing his name, perked up and struck a pose, trying to convince us that he wasn't tired. It wasn't very convincing.

"Hey, he really wants to battle. Why shouldn't I let him?" May brushed my hand off her shoulder and started waking again. "If we lose, we'll just train a bit and come back later. It's not like we're going to die if we lose!" My heart sunk as I fell into step behind her.

"Fine, you can battle, but I'm going to let my team rest."

"You're kidding, right? You're so sloooow." She dragged out the last few words for emphasis.

"I'm not too slow, you're too fast. You're not taking enough time to enjoy being a trainer, now that you've finally gotten to be one."

"I've wasted enough time not being a trainer that I've got a lot of catching up to do. I can't go slow, because everybody else is already so far ahead of me," she nodded to herself and stepped through a set of double door we'd just come to without missing a beat. I stopped and looked up; there was a large sign on the building she'd just entered that said, "Pokémon Academy and Rustboro Gym," in large letter that looked like they were hand-carved from large boulders.

"Education and a gym battle, what an interesting combination," I thought to myself before stepping through the doors myself. May was already talking to a young woman inside, wearing a school uniform and standing at a desk covered in papers.

"I'm sorry, but battles here are for the benefit of my students. Class has concluded for the day, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow," the woman said. She turned towards me, ignoring May's protests. "I'd imagine you're May's friend? I am Roxanne, the gym leader here at the Rustboro Gym, as well as the teacher at the academy," she said, bowing slightly.

"Why, yes, that would be me. For certain definitions of the word 'friend', at least. Don't worry about the battle, ma'am, she's just being impatient. Our Pokémon could use the day to rest anyway."

"Ah, glad to see that you're not too disappointed..." Roxanne trailed off, and I realized she was waiting for my name.

"Oh! Spencer, ma'am. Sorry," I said, laughing nervously.

"Oh, Norman's son?" I nodded, surprised that she already knew of my father, since he'd only started his job here recently. "Well... yes, I'm glad you aren't disappointed about having to wait. Come back tomorrow at noon, and we should be able to battle then. Assuming noon is acceptable to you two?" I looked over at May, and she crossed her arms and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan," I smiled. "We'll see you tomorrow, Roxanne." May moped the entire way back to the center, but we got back without incident. We booked our rooms, cleaned our clothes, grabbed a nice dinner, and restocked our supplies. It all but drained our resources, but we knew that we'd be making it back if we beat Roxanne the next day. I went to bed worried about the coming battle, but I managed to sleep well... until May started banging on my door 45 minutes earlier than we'd arranged to meet up.

"Jeez, May," I said when I stepped out of my room. She was smiling, completely ignoring the spiteful look. "'Meet in the lobby at ten' does not mean 'bang on my door for 20 minutes at nine-fifteen.'"

"Yeah, well, it's nine-forty now," she said matter-of-factly.

"Which gives me another twenty minutes I could have been sleeping. Not to mention another two hours until we need to be at the gym!"

"Hey, I was tired of waiting. And besides,that's twenty extra minutes of eating. You're always talking about that!" I rolled my eyes, but May kept smiling and pulled me close, her arm around my shoulder. "C'mon, Spencer, we're buddies. I promise I'll make it up to you!"

"Yeah, yeah. But I'm gong to tell you this: we're not going anywhere until your brush your teeth."

"Oh, you're no fun," May sighed, letting go of me. We spent the last of our cash on breakfast and sat around for an hour doing nothing in particular. We ended up arriving at the gym 15 minutes early, but Roxanne was already waiting.

"Oh, you're early," Roxanne said, putting down some paperwork she was working on. "Well then, who is going to be my first challenger?"

"I will," May volunteered almost immediately.

"Ah, good. Follow me, both of you." Roxanne led us into a large stadium, surrounded by bleachers filled by several dozen kids of various ages. Everyone quieted slightly when we walked in. "I hope you don't mind an audience, May."

"Of course not, it'll just make it feel so much better when I win." May walked confidently down to her place at the edge of the field, the challenger's box.

"Attention, students," Roxanne shouted, crossing over to her own square on the other side of the field. "This is May Birch, from Littleroot, and she will be challenging me today, as will her friend, Spencer." The students in the bleachers all turned to look at us; May smiled and waved, but I just sat down and tried not to draw too much attention. "Please wish them luck, and be on your best behavior during the battle. That means you, Jimmy." A quiet wave of laughter swept through the crowd and one of the kids sitting nearby started blushing.

"Standard gym battle; two on two," the referee said as everyone quieted down again. "Begin." To be completely honest, I was too distracted worrying about my upcoming battle to pay much attention to May's. What little I could remember, though, proved that May was already a pretty good battler, leading Pepper to beat Roxanne's first Geodude, and making a pretty good stand against her second. In the end, though, she had to switch in Jackie to finish the battle.

"Excellent work, May. You'll receive your prize after I battle your friend." May was visibly disappointed, but nodded and stepped off the field, Jackie following closely behind.

"I thought I was done for when she knocked out Pepper, but I won in the end and it was amazing," she was smiling brightly when she sat down next to me. "Good luck," she said, patting me on the back.

"Alright, students, it's time for lunch. Everybody follow your class leaders to the cafeteria, and say goodbye to our guests!" The students stood up and started filing out of the arena, some of them wish us luck and saying goodbye as they passed. Roxanne looked far more serious than she had previously, which was saying something, since she'd been pretty serious before.

"Wait, I thought the battles were for your students? If Spencer could battle without them here, why couldn't I battle you last night?"

"One battle is enough for the students for one day, and I wanted Spencer's Pokémon to be fully rested. Not only that, but I didn't want them to see if anything happened during the battle." That was it, Roxanne knew about my family's curse. Either word had spread through the network of gym leaders, or Dad had contacted her specifically to tell her. May looked ready to question her, but I interrupted but stepping down from the bleachers.

"Well you don't need to worry, Roxanne. I don't plan to lose."

"Standard gum battle; two on two," the referee declared, as he had with May's battle. Roxanne nodded and released an angry looking Geodude, who began banging its fists against the ground almost immediately.

"Trent, I think it's only fitting that you're in my first gym battle, since you were my first. Are you ready?" Trent jumped up onto my shoulder and examined his foe, before nodding and leaping into the arena. "Well then, start with pound!"

"Defense curl, Geodude!" Trent jumped across the field towards his foe who simply hovered in place, curling into a tight ball. Trent slammed his tail into the Geodude, who barely flinched before grabbing him and slamming him into the ground. "Follow up with rock throw." The Geodude reached to its side and picked up a large rock embedded in the ground, similar to the ones laying all over the field. Trent rolled to his side just in time to dodge the rock as the Geodude hurled it into the ground.

"Get up, Trent, and get ready to dodge the next attack!" Trent jumped to his feet and backed away slowly, watching his foe carefully.

"Rock tomb, Geodude." The Geodude picked up several more, smaller rocks, and hurled them into the air.

"Use pound again, Trent!" Roxanne scoffed as Trent ran under the rocks towards her Geodude.

"Already forget what happened last time? Defense curl again!"

"No, I didn't," I smirked, shaking my head. "Absorb, Trent!" The Geodude curled up defensively again, but this time, Trent jumped on top of it and slammed both hands into it. The Geodude started glowing green, and the energy began traveling through Trent's arms.

"Get him off of you, Geodude!" The Geodude ripped Trent off of itself and slammed him into the ground again. Trent just smirked, holding on tight and continuing the attack. The Geodude started flailing about, trying to get Trent off, but after a few seconds it fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Geodude has fainted," the referee announced. Trent nodded to himself and let go of the Geodude. "The winner of this round is Spencer, would the battler please send out their next Pokémon?"

"I must say, Spencer, that using pound really caught me off guard," Roxanne said as she returned her Geodude back to its ball. "If that hadn't worked, though, that could have ended very badly."

"That... was a complete accident, actually," I laughed nervously as Trent walked back to the sidelines.

"Well then, I have to warn you about my next Pokémon. She's much stronger than my Geodude, and it won't be nearly as easy to recover from a mistake like that. She can take even more damage, and is more resistant to grass-type attacks. But that's enough of an introduction, don't you think? Go, Nosepass!" Roxanne smiled as she released her Nosepass. It was a strange Pokémon, shaped like a strange caricature of a human face, and it floated a few inches above the ground, as her Geodude had.

"Well, do you think your Nosepass can beat my Kelso?" After a few seconds without a response, I looked back to see Kelso staring absentmindedly at Jackie. "Hey, Kelso!" He jumped, startled, and nearly fell off the bleachers, but ran out onto the battlefield.

"Start simple, Nosepass; use tackle!" I smiled as the Nosepass flew towards Kelso; I had a plan this time.

"Stop her in her tracks, Kelso, with stun spore!" Kelso ducked under his foe and released a cloud of yellow pollen. The Nosepass flinched and landed unsteadily on the ground. "Great, now use leech seed!"

"Dodge it, Nosepass!" Kelso turned and spat a small seed at the Nosepass. She tried to dodge, but flinched, and the seed landed on her head. It sprouted almost immediately, spreading vines all over her body. "Fine, use rock tomb!" The Nosepass nodded and stomped on the ground, causing jagged slabs of rock to shoot out of the ground and collapse, trapping Kelso.

"Get out of there, Kelso!" Kelso was still visible, being crushed underneath one of the rocks. He was struggling and doing everything he could to slip out, but was stuck solidly.

"Nosepass, rock throw!" Nosepass reached down to grab a good-sized rock in front of her, but froze halfway and feel forward onto her face, the vines covering her glowing a deep red. "Combining stun spore and leech seed to stall and drain Nosepass was a brilliant idea, Spencer. However, the battle is basically down to whether or not she can fight through her paralysis for long enough to attack."

"It may seem that way, Roxanne, but this battle is over now. Kelso?" Kelso stopped squirming for a moment and looked up at me, confused. "Use absorb!"

"Nosepass, stop him! Roxanne's Nosepass got up and practically flew at Kelso, glowing a pale green which was in stark contrast with the blood red of the leech seed. She slammed into the pile of rocks, sending them, and Kelso, flying. Kelso landed roughly, sliding several feet, and barely avoided getting crushed again by one of the rock. Nosepass couldn't take any more, however, and collapsed.

"Nosepass has fainted, the winner of this match is Spencer!"

"Good job," Roxanne sighed as she recalled her Nosepass. "Spencer, May, you two have great potential, and I expect to hear great things from you both in the future." I couldn't help but blush a bit at the compliment.

"I didn't do anything, though, it was Trent and Kelso that did all the hard work." Trent jumped up on my shoulder, and I have him a high-five. Kelso was busy talking to Jackie

"Well, regardless of who did most of the work, you're both already good battlers. Now, for your prizes..."


	7. Chapter 7

"Don't complain, May; it's enough to last us until we get to the next gym."

"Just barely, as not if we keep stopping to rest all the time," May whined. She was smart enough to hold her complaints about the prize money until we were outside, but now that we were out of Roxanne's earshot, she decided it was a great time to voice her discontent.

"It's plenty of money, especially if we camp instead of staying in centers. That's part of the trainer experience, after all." Trent, still sitting on my shoulder, nodded in agreement.

"But Spencer, we don't spend that much time in centers as it is. It wouldn't actually cut costs that much. Maybe if you didn't catch every Pokémon you came across, you could spend less on Poké Balls."

"May," I sighed, "we really don't need to argue about this right now. Maybe if we start getting low on money, we talk about it, but I promise you that we'll be fine." She shrugged after a few seconds.

"Fine, we'll talk about it later. We need to talk about what gym we're going to challenge next, anyway; I suggest Wattson's gym in Mauville, since we can get there easily from here by taking the Rusturf Tunnel."

"Stop! Thief!" From the building across the street, marked as the headquarters of Devon Corporation, the thief we'd encountered in Petalburg Woods came running towards, Edward's package tucked under his arm. When he saw us, recognition flashed through his eyes and he bolted down a different street. Edward followed quickly behind, but stopped when he saw us.

"Need more help?" He nodded, already out of breath."C'mon May," I shouted back to her, already chasing down the thief. He led us through several alleyways, and eventually out of the city. He continued running, even when we were reayd to collapse from exhaustion. When we managed to chase him into a cave a bit outside the city, he collapsed, hardly able to breathe.

"You... brats," he spat between gasps for breath as he stood up. "Couldn't leave... alone, could you?" Neither May or I said anything, being just as out of breath as he was. "Well... you're not taking... this back... go, Poochyena." He pulled out his Poké Ball and released his Pokémon. It snarled at us, fit and ready to fight.

"Crap," I snapped under my breath when I looked back at our Pokémon. Kelso, Jackie, Maria, and Jessica were nowhere to be found, and everybody else was obviously exhausted.

"Hah, you don't even have... your Pokémon ready... to protect you this time," the thief smirked. "Rip him to shreds!" The Poochyena jumped at me, snarling with its teeth bared. It knocked me to the ground and dug its teeth into my arm. I cried out in pain and felt adrenaline surge through me. I pushed my arm deeper into its mouth and it let go in surprise. I threw it off of me and scrambled to my feet, with May's help.

"Lotad!" The Poochyena stopped short of attacking me again when Maria's cry came from the mouth of the cave. Everybody turned to see her run into the cave, with Jessica still sitting on her head. She stopped, gasping for air, several feet from the Poochyena, but Jessica flew off her head. Midair, she began to glow and shift, and floating trumphantly there was her new form: a Beautifly.

"You're just full of surprises... aren't you?" The thief almost looked scared now that we had a Pokémon who could fight back. "Poochyena, tackle!"

"Poison sting, Jess!" The Poochyena climbed up onto a pile of rocks near the wall of the tunnel and leaped at Jessica, to no effect. Jessica simply dodged the attack gracefully and fired off a flurry of toxic barbs from her proboscis, landing a solid hit on her foe as it landed. "Now, use tackle!"

"Tackle that bug right back!" Jessica dived swiftly down, slamming into her foe who jumped up to meet her attack head-on. The Poochyena fell uncerimoniously back to the ground, but Jessica was flung backwards into the wall before she could regain stabalize herself. The Poochyena jumped again at her, but she managed to get back into the air just in time to avoid the attack, and latched her proboscis onto it. The Poochyena collapsed with a wimper, glowing lightly with the light I'd quickly grown to recognize as an absorb attack.

"Whatever," the thief spat, recalling his Pokémon. "I've got a second Pokémon now, just stole it!" From a second Poké Ball, he released a Wingull. It looked around, scared, for a moment before flying out of the cave as fast as its wings could carry it.

"Some Wingull," I laughed.

"Fine! If you want this damn thing so much, take it!" The thief threw the package towards us like it was a frisbee and I caught it, wincing in pain as I was suddenly reminded of the wound the Poochyena had inflicted on me. "I swear, though, that this isn't the last time you'll see Team Aqua!" The man turned and ran deeper into the tunnel, tossing several black sphere up at the ceiling. They exploded suddenly with a deafening boom, and the entire tunnel began shaking suddenly.

"Everybody, out," May shouted. We all forgot how tired we were from chasing the thief and ran out of the cave, the sound of the ceiling collapsing chasing us as we did. May stopped me once we were a safe distance away from the entrance of the tunnel, May stopped me and forced me to the ground.

"Stay still, I need to treat your wound," she said simply, seemingly oblivious to the cacophony only a short distance behind us. She sterilized the bite and bandaged it, and stood up triumphantly. "That should be fine until we get you some proper treatment. Shame about the tunnel, though, because I have no idea where we're going to go now."

"May, why are you so nonchalant about all this? Don't you think the fact there's a terrorist gang we've fought twice now running around is a bit more iportant than the fact that our journey is mildly inconvenienced?"

"I figured you'd worry about that," May said, helping me back up to my feet. "And I was right. C'mon, let's get this package back to Edward." She picked up the package from where I'd placed it while she was treating me, before setting off back to the city. I sighed and followed behind. Kelso and Jackie joined us about halfway through the walk, coming out of their hiding place behind some bushes, and the Wingull the thief had tried to fight us with was following closely behind us. Between our slower pace and our exhaustion from the chase, we took about thrice as long getting back to the city as we had getting to the tunnel, but Edward was already waiting for us at the edge of the city.

"Oh, great! I can't thank you enough for getting that back again, truely!" Edward's face fell when he noticed my bandaged arm. "Oh, you didn't get hurt on my behalf did you?"

"It's fine, just a flesh wound," I said, waving dismissively. "I'll be fine once I see a doctor."

"Well," he frowned, "I still feel terrible that you got hurt because of me." I stood there, thinking silently to himself for a few moments. "You know, I bet my boss will want to meet you, now that you've saved that package twice. You go get that arm looked at, and I'll bring him to see you, alright?" Edward nodded to himself, as if that was all the confirmation he needed, and walked back into the city to find his boss.

"You heard him, we're getting you to a doctor." May lead me to the Pokémon Center and we explained what had happened to the receptionist at the front desk. After leaving to talk with the staff, she lead us into a room where we waited. When a nurse arrived to examine my arm, a police officer was with her, hoping to get information on exactly what had happened.

"You're quite lucky," the nurse said as she looked at my wounds. "This could have been a lot worse, but it isn't that bad of an injury at all." The officer interviewed us both while the nurse worked. The officer thanked us for our time when he had finished and left the room, while the nurse told me that I was free to go. I thanked her for her treatment and stepped out into the lobby, where Edward was waiting with a short man in a suit similar to his. He had white, balding hair.

"There they are, sir," Edward said, directing the older man's attention to us. He looked us over then smiled and stood up, holding out his hands.

"Ah, Spencer and May. I am Mr. Stone, president of the Devon Corporation. Edward explained what exactly happened, and how he lost the package." I was about to point out that it wasn't his fault, but Mr. Stone held up his hand to silence me. "Now, now, I'm not going to reprimand him too harshly. He was attacked, and there truely isn't much he could have done to prevent being robbed. The fact that the thief attempted to take the package twice makes me think that it was a competitor, and our competitors are particularly fierce and hostile. Jealous of our success, you know!"

"But I digress," he continued. "I think we need a bit more security for the next leg of the journey this package is meant to take. It's destined for Captain Stern in Slateport, and considering the town's status as a port town, I think it's possible this 'Team Aqua' will attempt to steal it once again. Given the track record you two have, I would like to hire you to deliver the package for me. You're trainers, no? Then you could very easily pass through Mauville and get your badge on the way if you go through Rusturf Tunnel, and-"

"I'm afraid we can't do that, the thief collapsed it," May interrupted. Mr. Stone frowned. but resumed speaking almost immediately.

"Ah, a slight set back. It should be equally easy to get a boat ride down to Dewford, which also has a gym, then sail to Slateport from there. That's actually probably much better for you."

"But what's in this for us?" I blinked in surprise at the bluntness of May's question, but Mr. Stone just laughed.

"Being transparent about your intentions? That's quite a rarity in my business, and very refreshing, I must admit." He stopped momentarily to wipe a tear that had formed in his eye before continuing. "But of course, I intend to reimburse you for your efforts. I will offer both of you one personal favor from me. I'm a fairly powerful man, and I'm sure you can see how great of a deal this is for you two." May nodded, satisfied, and I had to admit that a personal favor from the head of one of the largest companies in the region was far more than I'd hoped for as far as any reimbursment. "Excellent. Don't take too much time delivering that package, but don't feel as though you'll have no time to rest, either. I was a trainer once, believe it or not, and I know that the urge to explore can be a difficult one to resist." Mr. Stone left without much cerimony after that, and Edward followed him out.

"Wow, he sure talked a lot," May said once Mr. Stone was out of hearing range. "Awfully good payment just for delivering some package, though," she smiled.

"It certainly is," I said, turning to the receptionist. "Can we have two rooms, please?"

"Certainly," she said, "but could you stay here in the lobby for a few minutes. We believe we know whose Wingull that is, and he'll be here mome-"

"Peeko!" May and I turned to look at the front doors of the center and saw another older man standing there, staring directly at the Wingull perched on the desk by us. He looked a lot older than Mr. Stone had, but was also much taller. "Was it you two that found my dear Peeko?" the man asked us.

"Yes, we did," I said, stepping to the side so he could get his Pokémon. He ran up and hugged it, getting a cheerful cry in return.

"Oh, I can't thank you enough! I'm Mr. Briney, by the way. I used to own a small personal ferry service, and though I've been retired for many years now, if you have anywhere you need to go, I'd be more than happy to take you there!" I glanced over at May, who simply shrugged.

"Actually," I smiled, amused by the sheer serendipity of the situation, "how about a trip to Dewford, and then Slateport?"


End file.
